Saturday 30 November 2013

Started off well this morning, went to the gym first thing, came back and had scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast.  Went to Ormskirk on an errand, paid the paper bill, posted some cards, dropped in on mum and dad for a coffee.  Came home tidied up.  Had a tossed salad with ham.  Did some laundry.  Quite a productive day.  Going out tonight so starting to get ready now! x

Friday 29 November 2013

Tigi Cat is sad this evening.  She has been restless and demanding, pacing and jumping, questioning me with her meows.  It reminded me of this: MY SAD CAT
I was also reminded this week that life is precious.  I couldn't say it better than this from thepoetrypad.com

Life is so precious
And each day a gift
So enjoy every minute
As if it were your last to live

Cherish your loved ones
Hug them tight
Share with them your heart
And your time

Nothing is forever
And life goes so fast
Each minute that passes
Is one you can’t get back

When troubles arrive
And knock you off your feet
Stand up and smile
And remember life is too sweet

Every morning when you wake,
Decide right from the start,
That “Today will be a good day”
And let it all in with an open heart

Thursday 28 November 2013

Halfway through BBE's holiday.  I'll have to blitz the house this weekend as it doesn't happen during the week!  I haven't got much to say tonight, so here's a picture of a squirrel.  I stitched it myself. x

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Tired.  Didn't get in from work til nearly 8. I left work late and then got stuck on the M6.  Used to this now. Crawl along for a bit, stop whilst obstruction is cleared/recovered.  Go! I got in before 8.  Not hungry, too tired to cook.  Should have gone to the gym, should have gone to bed.  Ate the remains of a packet of cheddars and the last of a tube of Pringles. To be fair, neither were very full and tomorrow is another day. x

Tuesday 26 November 2013

Tigi Cat is much better now.  Yowling at me this evening because I wouldn't let her out.  I ran in, fed her, put the heating on, and ran out again.  I went to the pictures.  Is it very old fashioned to say 'the pictures?' The Cinema, for anyone who doesn't know what I am on about.  I really wanted to see 'Philomena' and I didn't mind going by myself.  Inevitably there were tears, maybe it was just as well I wasn't with anyone; although at one point I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. There were only about a dozen people, ok, all women, and there was sniffing and tissues being pulled out of handbags all around me.  I'd describe it as a tragic comedy.  It stars Judi Dench and Steve Coogan and tells the story of a woman looking for her son.  It's a sad tale, based on a true story, told with a touch of humour.
I went to my slimming class straight from work, I've lost 9lb in 5 weeks!  I've been to Center Parcs with my family in that time! I am very pleased with that progress! x

Monday 25 November 2013

Leaving work tonight I heard some owl type noises and thought it was somebody larking about, until two owls swooped over my head.  One landed in a nearby tree where it stayed until I drove off.  Wow!  My first owl encounter. I like owls. I have a print of an owl hanging in my bedroom, it's been demoted from the lounge as BBE isn't fond of it, but I love it! It's by Raela K a Liverpool Artist, you can see her website  HERE











In Myanmar two owls are considered lucky, and you see them everywhere you go, like these photographed by the guys at Our 7 Worlds


Super Noodles!  BBE would be horrified.  I didn't even take my coat off before scoffing a couple of slices of homemade turkey and bacon meatloaf from the fridge, followed by 5 crackers with cheese. With my coat still on I put the noodles on and added some chopped veggies, soy sauce and extra chilli flakes.  I did take my coat off before I ate it!
My plan to go to the cinema was foiled when I came home to a poorly Tigi Cat.  She was lethargic and wouldn't even pick at her food.  She has perked up now and is on my knee purring after eating a bit of meatloaf.

Sunday 24 November 2013

Ta Da!  In an effort to maintain standards whilst BBE is away I bought the most enormous rump steak and cooked it sous vide, cool box style!  It was already vacuum packed, I left it in the original packaging and referred to this article which I love because of all the facts and figures and pictures which make it very clear.  I was aiming for 130 degrees F, to give a medium rare steak, turns out my cool box isn't very good at maintaining the temperature of the water.  I started off with one kettle of cold water, plus two kettles of boiling water.  I topped it up with boiling water about every 20 minutes, checking the temperature carefully each time.  I think next time, given the loss of heat I get with my cool box I will aim for 140 degrees F.  I left it for two hours, This allowed the fat to render and the connective tissues to start to break down.  The steak was patted dry and then seared in a smoking hot pan.  The chips are made from parsnips and baked in the oven with Fry Light. The vegetables were steamed. I was quite pleased with the result.  x

Saturday 23 November 2013


I'm done in tonight.  It's been a busy day.  I had a text message from the lovely Wendy at The Framing Cottage last night saying that Misfit II was ready to be picked up.  I left the house at half ten this morning and didn't get back until half six.
It only took about an hour round trip to pick up the new picture, it's massive by the way!  The rest of the day was spent in and about my mum and dad's.  It was the Merseyside derby today, as I am known to have no interest in football I was the first to volunteer for childminding.  The child in question was my delightful almost three year old niece.  She was no trouble at all.  Together with my mum we went to M&S for a few bits.  Picked some lovely stuff up, but oh my, with 4 weeks to go til Christmas it was already super busy! I will try to venture out to the shops at weekends, only in the morning times until well in to the new year.
The on-line shopping that we collected today was super easy.  I hope to do that again with mum.  It will be much easier to do the ordering bit next time I'm sure.
The derby result was ultimately a 3-3 draw, fair enough from the reports I've heard.

Friday 22 November 2013

Early start for me today.  It was a beautiful autumn day, clumps of golden leaves were still clinging to the trees, the sky was a cloudless expanse of blue, traffic was light and I was in work before 8.15, well I felt I had to be really.  I was leaving early to take my dad for a hospital appointment.  He's ok, in case you were wondering.  
I felt a tiny wave of sadness when I turned into my road and BBE's car wasn't outside my house.  I put the dishes away that I'd left to dry on the drainer, including BBE's espresso cup it never goes away as he uses it everyday and it gets put back by the Presso machine.  The Presso machine is an elegant little device that allows you to make a fresh espresso coffee with very little fuss or mess.  It's now sold as ROK, it is easily the best, or at least the most used present that I have ever bought for BBE.  I put the heating on for Tigi cat before going back to Mum and Dad's.  We had a chippy tea, I left most of the batter and didn't eat many chips, honest!
Mum is highly sceptical of on-line grocery shopping preferring to go out and select her own produce two to three times a week, and why not!  It's good to be out and active, and it's sociable too as Mum often goes out with her sister, but it can be difficult to carry lots of heavy shopping home on the bus...  I spent a good two hours doing an internet shop for us to collect from the store tomorrow.  This is somewhat of a compromise in that we can still go out to pick it up in store, and hand pick a few bits whilst we are there.  If it's a success it won't take as long next time! 
So although I didn't get to the gym tonight and my diet was sent slightly off kilter, it was a cosy night in with the folks and time well spent. x

Thursday 21 November 2013

I woke up before the alarm this morning and tried to get back to sleep. I was mostly just lying there and not sleeping, but it was quite nice. I'm not a starfish kind of sleeper, I like to wrap the duvet around me.  Tigi cat purred extremely loudly. 
Normal day at work. BBE rang when I was driving back from a meeting, my Bluetooth in the car is playing up so I missed it!  *sad face*
When I was driving home later the traffic slowed up, to a stop. I often ring BBE at such times, so I missed him and it really did feel strange coming home to an empty house tonight. I fed Tigi cat, put the heating on and went to the gym.  I really felt my gym session.  I don't go regularly!  Went to Mum and Dad's for an hour to catch up before going home to make my dinner.  Dinner was a chicken leg and cherry tomatoes left over from last night plus some freshly steamed green veg. Tasty!
Washed my hair and watched Masterchef.  Not a bad night.  I'm going to have to squeeze more into my evenings if I hope to make some changes before BBE comes home.
Nearly the weekend!  x

Wednesday 20 November 2013

So....I said Bon Voyage to my boyfriend this morning and left for work.  Let's just call him BBE from here on in.  I was a little reluctant to leave the house but fortunately my journey this morning was quite swift.  Only 50 minutes or so.  Whilst fully concentrating on my driving a few more ideas of Things To Do over the next two weeks came to me.  

  • Take a Dance Class
  • Go to the Cinema
  • See Friends
  • Go to the Christmas Markets

I wouldn't say that I am happy about BBE leaving me alone but I am excited that I might get round to some of the things that I always mean to do! 
Tigi cat may find it odd that BBE is missing, he is very good at giving her the love and attention she demands, whilst I perform the more mundane tasks of feeding, grooming, cleaning out the litter tray and taking her to the vets as required.
I expected to come back to a cold dark house but BBE had thoughtfully left the heating on and a bottle of red wine open to breathe for when I got in.   "When I got in" turned out to be quarter past eight, I stayed in work a bit later than I have recently, stopped at Asda for Cat Litter and ended up with a small trolley full of groceries.  Popped in to see my mum and dad before finally arriving home.  I set Masterchef to record and set about making something to eat for myself.

I have to admit that BBE does most of the cooking, it's not that I can't, he's just in earlier.  You get out of practice though, and lose a bit of confidence when you don't cook often.  Thus my first challenge was keeping up the standard of evening meal I had become accustomed too.  I think I did a pretty good job of chicken leg with chilli and garlic, roast cherry tomatoes, steamed green beans and low fat oven cooked chips. (also known as Slimming World chips!)  I've finally purchased a Chip and Dice from Lakeland and some Fry Light and I am making chips as often as I am allowed...which may be a bit more over the next two weeks.

Hopefully future evenings will be more productive than this first one!  x


Tuesday 19 November 2013


You may have read Here that my boyfriend is going on holiday for two weeks, or so, without me :-(
I've started my blog to mark this.  It's not a relationship problem or some kind of cry for more space, it's a logistical one, where every so often he has more holidays than me and a couple of weeks away somewhere he loves to be is the answer.  I am going to make the most of this time.  Ideas so far include revamping a room, going to the gym to help my weight loss plan and seeing more of my friends.  Not extravagant plans, I'm hoping for a quiet time and to feel just as refreshed as if I have been on holiday!